New Connections
by helpthehorriblelovethelonely
Summary: Harry Evans, previously known as Harry Potter, has been living and working in New York City for several years now. Nobody that he was in contact with currently knew who he was across the pond, and he was planning on keeping it that way. That is until his latest client is a certain blonde slytherin from his past. What else is Harry to do other than accidentally fall in love?


Harry potter was sitting in his muggle apartment, sitting at his desk, staring at all the work he had to do. He was sipping a mug of coffee, trying to wake up enough to be able to focus on the list of assignments he had. Harry shook his head, he had almost finished his drink and he wasn't any more awake, he stood and walked out into the living area and stood by the giant windows on one of the walls that left him able to view the city. Harry lived in a large apartment in the heart of New York City, he had looked at the view from his window every day for 8 years now, he still smiled at it every time. Right now, in early February, there was snow on the ground that was littered with the imprints of peoples footsteps, Harry thought he might just add his own set to the mix.

He finished his coffee and put the mug in the sink before heading into his bedroom to get some clothes on. He put on an old Weasley sweater; the last one he had received from Molly before he left. He hugged himself a bit, it was warm and still strummed with magic despite its age. He sighed and remember what led him here to New York in the first place.

_*flashback*_

_Harry was walking down the destroyed halls of Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. He had killed Voldemort less than 24 hours ago, he was still exhausted from the magical exertion, but he didn't let anybody know that. He felt empty, but he didn't let anybody know that, either. _

_He was headed down to the great hall to see if headmistress McGonagall needed any help with the restoration of the castle, it was his home, after all. He was about to turn a corner when he heard the voices of Molly and Arthur Weasley coming from around it. He heard his name and paused; they were talking about him? Why were they talking about him? He stilled and focused his hearing. _

"_My son is gone, Arthur!" Molly wailed, "My baby is gone! I will never see him again! And it's all because we met Harry at the station in his first year!" _

_Harry winced, he wanted to hear a little bit more before he made any conclusions, but his heart was already aching. _

"_Molly," Arthur said gently, "don't you think that is a little unfair? We would have been in this war regardless if we had ever met Harry or not." _

"_Yes, but being close to him is the reason our family has had to put up with so much! Almost every bad thing that has happened to my children has happened because of Harry! Bills werewolf attack! Percy leaving the family! Fred dying! George missing an ear! Ron has been almost poisoned, he almost died during the horcrux hunt, and so many other things! Ginny being possessed by one of you-know-who's horcruxes! All of this happened because someone was trying to hurt Harry, and our family got the brunt of it!" she was angry, furious, she was scolding Arthur like he was an idiot, Harry didn't stick around to hear the rest. _

_He turned on his heel and started walking away from them, he found himself at the front doors and made his way out, down the steps, across the green, and through the gates. He apparated as soon as he stepped outside of the Hogwarts wards. _

_He landed at 12 Grimmauld place, but he wasn't planning on staying there. He pulled out his old school trunk and filled it with all the clothes he had left behind during the hunt, he packed the invisibility cloak along with it, but he put the marauders map in an envelope, he would send it to George when he got to wherever he was going, he deserved it more than Harry did. Harry shrunk the trunk and put it in his pocket, he turned on his heel and apparated again. Harry found himself landing directly in front of Gringotts. He took a deep breath and walked up the stairs. _

_The goblins saw him, and they scowled, they weren't all that fond of him with the whole dragon escape and everything, Harry walked up, nonetheless. "Excuse me, I would like to empty my vaults," the goblin raised an eyebrow at him, _

"_That can be arranged Mr. Potter. Would you like to open new accounts with us, or have your money transferred elsewhere?" _

"_I'm not exactly sure where I'm going yet, is there any way that I can open a new account and have the bank in the magical area of wherever I'm going contact you to transfer it?" the goblin nodded, _

"_That should be fine. Currently our records state you have several vaults, would you like them all switched over to the one?" _

_Harry nodded, he knew he had a lot of money from the last time he had been to Gringotts in his fifth year, he only imagined it had grown sense then. "Yes, and can you please take half of my wealth and put it into the bank for restitution?" _

_The goblins head shot up from where it was writing something on a piece of parchment, he narrowed his eyes at Harry but eventually gave him a curt nod, "Yes, I can do that for you, Mr. Potter, is there anything else you need?" _

_Harry shook his head "No sir, I have enough money to get me to wherever I need to go, thank you for your time." he said politely, bowing his head a bit in respect before turning and leaving the bank, now it was time to go to the ministry._

_Harry put glamour's over himself, so he didn't look exactly like Harry Potter walking down the street in Diagon alley, he stepped quickly into a post office and had them send an owl with the marauders map to George, before he continued on his way. _

_He walked up the steps of the ministry building and into the lobby, he had his wand checked before he went over to the international travel network. The international travel network was what you used to get to a country for the first time. You didn't have to go through the hassle every time you travelled between countries, but you did the first time you travelled there._

"_Hello, how may I help you?" a friendly looking woman smiled at him, Harry gave her a polite smile back, _

"_I need a portkey, please." _

"_Okay, where would you like your destination to be?" she picked up a pen and paper to start writing the airplane note to the other end of the department, so by the time he did all his screenings, the portkey would be ready. _

_Harry didn't know where he was going, or what he was doing, he looked over at the map they had off to the side and he let his magic pick for him, it had never steered him wrong before. He watched as the state New York in the United States started to glow softly, he smiled,_

"_New York, United States," he answered, she nodded and finished the note, he paid her, and he went through the screening and other travel procedures. Finally, when he got to the man who held his portkey, he sighed in relief. The man, not recognizing him, gave him a smile, _

"_Enjoy your trip, my boy." he said as he handed him his portkey, _

"_I will, thank you." was Harry's reply before he had been whisked away by a pull behind his navel._

_*end flashback*_

Harry sighed at the memories and looked at himself in the mirror before he layered up. New York had done him well, he was a little taller now, he had filled out, so he wasn't as lanky, he had gotten his eyesight corrected, and he had been growing out his hair the entire time he has been in the states. It was no longer an uncontrollable mess, instead it flowed down his back in pretty waves , reaching to at least his mid back.

He shook his head, now was not the time to be staring at himself, he put on layers of clothes, a nice thick coat, a scarf, earmuffs, and gloves. That wasn't even including the heating charm he put on himself as soon as he stepped outside. Harry started to walk, not really going anywhere in particular. It was hard to get lost in New York City, considering the streets were numbered, so he never bothered to worry about where he was going, he only cared that he was going.

Harry passed his work on the way to wherever it was his feet were taking him and he smiled. Harry had spent a few years exploring what he liked to do, he tried so many different things that at one point he was worried he simply wasn't good at, or liked doing, anything. That was, until he took his first art class. Immediately, Harry loved it, he took to it like a fish to water and he felt himself come alive inside again. He had taken several classes and eventually decided he wanted to be a graphic designer, he got his bachelors in the subject and made his way into the work force.

He loved it, every bit of it, even dealing with the clients part of it. That was why he was out here now, walking in the snow, the cold air always helped him think, the monotonous feel of the walking helped him come up with some of his best ideas. He found himself stopping in front of his favorite art store, he couldn't help but walk in.

"hello Cecelia," he said to the older woman who was behind the counter,

"oh! Hello Harry! I wasn't expecting you today," she smiled warmly at him, Harry laughed softly,

"I hadn't expected to be here today, either, but I'm working on a large project and I needed help getting the thoughts flowing, I ended up stopping in front of your lovely shop." his English accent was mostly gone by now, he had worked hard on his voice to make it more neutral, he was proud of how not foreign he sounded. Cecelia just gave him a smile and waved him off as he looked around. While Harry mainly did his professional work digitally, he did like to do traditional arts such as painting and drawing quite often. He hummed as he remembered he was running low on charcoal and his favorite pencil was running out of lead, so he grabbed those things as he walked.

He went over to the counter and spoke to Cecelia for a while, even after she had rung up his items and handed him his bag. She had sort of become a mother figure for him in the last few years, not as much as Molly had been, but she certainly cared for him, and for that he was grateful.

Harry left the store with a smile on his face as he made the way back to his apartment. His life was so much better now than it had been in England, he was glad he left.

-HHLL HHLL HHLL-

Harry hummed as he walked to work, he wore nicer clothes today because he was going to be meeting with a client and he wanted to make a good impression. He wore a dark green button up and black slacks- under all of his layers of course- nothing so fancy it was obvious, but nice enough that he looked professional.

He stepped into the office and brushed the snow off of his shoulders, he said his good mornings to his coworkers as he made his way to his personal studio/office space. He placed his winter things on the coatrack in the corner and began setting out the things he would need for the first meeting. He looked up when he heard his office door opening and smiled at the receptionist, Jessica, who had his client trailing behind her.

"Thank you, Jessica," he said pleasantly, she smiled and beckoned the client in, Harry stood and went around his desk, he looked up just in time to see a very familiar man step up to him. In all of his glory, Draco Malfoy stood in front of him, he was giving him a very strange look, but Harry just grinned and held out his hand for him to shake,

"Hello, I'm Harry Evans, you requested designs for your business?" he pretended like he had never met the blonde, and he hoped it was working, he thought that for now, it was. Draco looked down at his hand before shaking it,

"I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy," he replied, "and yes, that is precisely why I'm here." Draco looked him up and down again as Harry pulled away and moved to sit behind his desk, he motioned for Draco to sit in one of the chairs in front of him, the blonde sat.

"So, Mr. Malfoy, why don't we start with you explaining what exactly your business is? That way I can get a more general idea before I start asking for specifics." he spoke like he would to any client, he picked up a notebook and a pencil, ready to write down what he was told.

Draco looked at him skeptically, like he was expecting a camera crew to pop out from behind his desk and yell 'gotcha!'. He shook his head and cleared his expression, he was here for a reason, after all.

"That sounds reasonable," he began, "I'm opening a boutique named, 'The Steel Rose', It will be a boutique that focuses on the more minimalist, androgynous styled clothing and accessories. It is going to be located in the shopping district of where I live."

Harry hummed in response, writing everything down and already starting to scribble a few designs on the margins of his paper. "How important is the location of your store to your branding?" he asked, Draco was taken a bit aback, but answered nonetheless,

"Not very, I feel like the location could be moved and it would not change, although it will be the first of its kind anywhere near the area," Harry nodded,

"England, I presume?" he looked up at the blonde who just nodded his head in answer. Harry wrote a few sentences more down before asking another question.

"Are you looking for just logo design, or do you intend to get things like signs, banners, neon's, bag decorations, letterheads, business cards, envelopes, those sorts of things?"

"I plan on seeking your assistance for all of the above minus the neon's."

Harry nodded again; he did a lot of that in these meetings, nodding. He kept writing and sketching out certain ideas that popped into his head as he listened to Draco speak some more. When they finished their meeting, Harry gave him one of those award winning smiles,

"Thank you, Mr. Malfoy, for taking the time to come all the way out here, although I am curious as to why you chose someone based in New York and not in London or France?"

Simply, Draco said "I was told you are the best." Harry tried to keep down a blush and he nodded,

"I appreciate the compliment," they shook hands again, "I will email you with general concept ideas and you can nix the ones you absolutely despise, then I'll go from there, alright?" Draco hummed,

"Sounds great, will I need to come back in, sometime in the future? I want to be able to plan accordingly,"

"It would be easier if you came in while I pitch the final designs to you, although I can also do that over email or video chat if that would be easier for you, I know plane tickets are expensive and families can get in the way of traveling, so I can work around whatever constraints you may have with scheduling," Harry responded as he walked him out of his office, he had to keep up the whole 'I don't know you or that you're wizard' façade. He heard Draco chuckle and he couldn't help the spike of nerves in his heart at the sound,

"Family won't be an issue, Mr. Evans," he said good naturedly, joking about his lack of a family. Harry just gave him another smile, not letting any of his emotions show through his professional mask.

"I look forward to hearing from you, Mr. Malfoy." he said as the blonde left the building.

"That one was a real looker, huh?" Jessica gave Harry a smirk as he leaned himself up against the front counter where she worked, Harry jut blushed and shook his head a bit, but his eyes didn't leave Draco's retreating form.

"You are awful, Jess," she just grinned,

"You love me."

-HHLL HHLL HHLL-

Harry spent the next few days at his workstation at home, he sipped on some tea out of a chipped star wars themed mug while he worked on the design concepts for 'The Steel Rose', he sent the files of the images to the email that Draco had given him, he wondered what it would have been like to teach Draco muggle things, he figured it would have been hilarious to see the confusion on his face. Harry shook his head, he did not need to be thinking of Malfoy in any other way but professional, he wouldn't think of his other clients in such a casual way, he shouldn't with Malfoy either.

Harry shook his head and stood, finishing the work he wanted to get done for now. He headed into the Livingroom to just sit in the silence with the sun coming in through his window, bouncing off of the white of the snow. He was only seated for 20 minutes when he heard a knock on his door, his eyebrows furrowed but assumed it was one of his friends, like Michael or Jessica (Just because he had up and disappeared from England didn't mean he had to be a recluse). He hummed and put his mug down, he walked over to the door and opened it, expecting one of his friends, although when he opened the door it wasn't one of them. Of course it wasn't.

In front of him, again, stood Draco Malfoy, except this time something was different. Something about Harry must have been different as well, because Draco looked at him a little longer than he maybe should have. Harry realized that it was their magics, they both had shut theirs down the other day, considering they were in a muggle environment, but now it wasn't that way. Harry swallowed; Draco knew.

"Potter," Draco said politely, Harry almost flinched at the use of his old name, he stepped aside and motioned for Draco to come in, he did. Harry closed the door behind him and watched as Draco looked around his apartment in slight awe.

"Wow, that view, huh?" he commented, stepping up to the window and watching the snow fall over the city. Harry rolled his eyes but couldn't help but agree, it was part of the reason he chose this apartment to call home.

"Yes, it's my favorite part of the place." he answered with a hum, he picked up his mug off of the coffee table, "Would you like some tea? It appears I need a refill anyway."

Draco looked over at him and he looked a bit confused, "You mean, you aren't going to yell at me for just… invading your privacy like this?"

Harry rolled his eyes again, "No, Draco, I'm not." The use of the blondes first name must have really thrown him off, if the look on his face was anything to go by. "First off, while seeing you here is unexpected, you are not unwelcome. Second, you are paying me, so perhaps yelling at my client wouldn't be a good idea?" he ended his sentence with a bit of a laugh, he motioned Draco to follow him into the kitchen.

The kitchen wasn't excessively large, but it wasn't small, either. The living room, bedroom, and office were all larger than the kitchen, but it was a good size for just himself, or for him and his friends when they came over. Harry hummed as he put the kettle back on the stove, he turned and leaned against his counter.

"How have things been?" he asked casually, Draco narrowed his eyes,

"Oh no, you aren't getting away with not answering my questions by distracting me," Harry couldn't help but chuckle,

"Then ask away," was all he said, Draco looked incredulous at how open and friendly Harry was being.

"Where do I even start? What happened? Why did you leave? Have you been here this whole time? How have you kept yourself hidden so well? Why didn't you tell anybody you were going?" Draco asked, leaning against the opposite counter and giving Harry a look that Harry thought might have said Draco was hurt by his leaving, Harry furrowed his brows.

"I have been here the whole time, yes." Was what he answered first, he figured they might as well get comfortable for the longer parts of the story. He poured the tea into his Star Wars mug and motioned for Draco to pick one of the others that were in the cabinet above him, Harry couldn't help but chuckle at the simple blue one he picked up, total opposites, the two of them. He summoned the cream and sugar from the fridge and stirred it in, giving Draco time to do the same before he sent the add ins back to their rightful homes.

"Come," he said calmly and nodded his head in the direction of the living room before he walked out, Draco followed him. Harry sat on one side of the couch and he was a little surprised when Draco sat on the other end, turning to face him, Harry did the same, also crossing his leg over the other.

"I guess I should start with what happened to make me leave," he sighed and sipped his tea. "It hadn't even been a full 24 hours sense Voldemort had been dead, it was the next morning and I was walking down the halls from where McGonagall had let me sleep when near the great hall, I heard Molly and Arthur Weasley speaking. They said my name, so I stopped and listened. Molly said that if she and the rest of her family had never met me, then they would have been okay, that the bad things that happened to her family wouldn't have happened. She blamed me for all of her children's injuries, including Fred's death. She sounded so sincere, so… contemptuous, I didn't stick around to listen anymore. I walked my way out of the Hogwarts' wards and apparated away, I went to Gringotts to manage my finances, and then I went to the ministry. A few quick concealment charms and glamour's meant that nobody recognized me, I went to the international travel section and bought a portkey. I didn't know where I was going, so I let my magic pick for me, it chose New York. I received my one way portkey and landed in the nearby wizarding city. I then immediately started house hunting; I've been here ever sense." He answered, his voice wavered a bit as he spoke about what happened with the adult Weasleys, but he was proud of himself for his emotions not being worse.

Draco took a minute to process the information. "I don't blame you," he finally answered, Harry looked at him in astonishment. Draco gave him a small smile, "I would have left too had the mother of who I thought of as my adoptive family had said she wished she'd never met me. I'm sorry that you had to go through that, it must have been difficult."

Harry sighed and looked down at his lap, "I started seeing a therapist when I moved here, I knew I was going to need it after the war, so I am much better now than I ever was when you used to know me. It was very hard, but I made it through." He looked up finally with a small smile.

"Well," Draco began, "now that I have the questions about the whole disappearing thing answered, how have you been? What else have you been doing? How did you get into graphic design and become so popular you are known over at home?" he raised his eyebrow, giving him a bit of a smirk.

"Oh! I've been really well. The first few years were hard; I had no idea what I was doing or where I was going. And I had nobody to help me. Well, that's not true, I had my therapist, but it's not really the same, y'know?

"Anyway, I started taking college courses on whatever subject I could find, anything and everything was an option, I had no idea what I was good at other than killing evil wizards, so I had to start somewhere. I eventually found art and I fell in love with it. More specifically digital and commercial art, I love drawing in my sketchbook with pencils and sometimes I mess around with paint, but the digital stuff is where I thrive the most," Harry smiled and sipped his tea some more,

"I actually have a bachelor's degree in graphic design, I started working at my firm uh… I've lived here for 8 years, so almost 5 years at work." Draco watched him for a small while,

"You have changed so much," he said quietly, Harry couldn't help the small blush that crept onto his cheeks.

"Thank you," he responded, he was proud of the changes and growth he had made in his life, "what have you been up to? Obviously starting a business, but how did you get to that point?" he chuckled.

"I went back to Hogwarts to finish my education, when I was finished, I started working at the ministry, actually- my father helped get me a job. I was there for a year, almost two, but I hated it, so I started dabbling in other things, I somehow landed a design internship with a French fashion designer and everything just kind of fell into place from there." Draco smiled as he leaned back into the couch, he really was happy with the life he had built for himself.

"No wife or kids?" Harry asked seriously, he jumped when he heard Draco almost choke on his tea,

"Oh, heavens no!" he finally responded when he was able to breathe, Harry started laughing softly, Draco gave him a playful glare,

"What about you Potter-" he frowned when Harry winced again, he corrected himself, "What about you Harry, any girlfriend or wife or anything?" Harry snorted,

"Women aren't exactly my type, but no matter, gay or straight I'm still single," he teased himself good naturedly, he refused to look Draco in the eyes at this point. Draco was quiet for a bit; Harry still didn't look up at him.

"Not what I was expecting, but me too, honestly," he said when he finally responded. Harry looked back over at him and saw he wasn't just trying to mock him; he gave him a bit of a smile.

They sat and chatted for a while more, exchanging stories and laughs and just catching up on the others' lives. At one point Harry apologized for how he acted in school, Draco accepted it and gave an apology of his own, which Harry accepted.

Harry didn't know how he was supposed to feel about someone from his old life finding him and his new one, but for some reason with Draco, he didn't mind.

-HHLL HHLL HHLL-

Harry and Draco hung out at least once a week, sometimes more, in the couple of months Harry was working on the designs for Draco's boutique. They spoke easily and the others presence always felt natural to be around.

Harry had just shown Draco his final designs a few days ago, Draco had stood there amazed at his work, Harry couldn't help the way his face went red as a tomato at all the praise. In the end, Draco chose the one that was Harrys favorite, and he couldn't help but grin when the decision was made. They sat and chatted for a bit after Harry unveiled his work, but when Draco left that night, he felt both happy and sad.

Now it was a few days later, Harry was taking a few days off before he got to work with a new client, he needed at least a weekend break before he started new projects. He was sitting on his couch drinking a cup of tea, he was a little sad- he figured now that he had completed his work for Draco, that the blonde would just… go back to forgetting he existed. He was going to miss having the other around, he sunk down in his couch cushions and grumbled to himself, this is what he got for going and catching feelings for his old schoolyard enemy, he supposed.

He heard something slip under his front door and he felt the small bit of extra magic in the air, he frowned and turned, on the floor was a steel gray envelope, it had a glow coming off of it that Harry found enticing. He got out of his seat and went and picked it up, inside it read:

"**You are invited to attend the grand opening celebration of 'The Steel Rose', it will be held at the store in Diagon alley on May 2****nd****, the celebration will begin at 7 pm."**

Harry read the invitation more than once before he grinned, he was going to get to see Draco again, surrounded by the things he was so passionate about and in the store that he dumped his heart and soul into, Harry couldn't wait.

The night of the second rolled around faster than Harry thought it would. It was 6 pm and Harry was standing in front of his closet, showered, and looking for something to wear. He had worked with Draco for months on the design of the boutique, so he had a pretty good understanding of the aesthetic of the place. He looked through his closet to see what he could put together.

Wanting to play off of the minimalist theme, Harry pulled out a pair of black slacks that tapered at his ankle almost like a skinny jean, he wore a navy blue shirt and a longer, almost trench coat like, dark gray coat. He tied his hair loosely in a ponytail with a matching navy blue ribbon. He looked at himself in the mirror and smiled, he thought he looked nice, he hoped Draco thought so too. He blushed at the thought, why'd he have to go and catch feelings?

He left the house 10 minutes later, he apparated to the entrance of Diagon alley and took a deep breath, he was afraid of people recognizing him, but he tried to convince himself that he looked different enough that nobody would. He took another deep breath and walked farther into the alley. It was later in the evening and most of the stores were closed, but Harry could see the lights emanating from the boutique just a block or so ahead. His grin grew the closer he got to the store.

Finally, he stepped in front of it, it was an anomaly amongst all the other buildings in Diagon. The architecture was very angular and square, fitting the minimalist aesthetic to a tee. Harry thought that a building like this would look amazing back home, but he thought it was beautiful here, as well. Harry looked up at the branding he had designed, he couldn't help but feel proud. He looked into the large windows in front of the store, they reminded him of the ones in his apartment and he smiled, he saw the few dozen people that were mingling about inside and he pulled up all of his courage to enter the building.

He stepped inside and the atmosphere was very similar to what Harry thought it would be like, except one key difference, despite the minimalist design, the space felt warm and inviting instead of cold and cut off. Harry hummed and made his way over to where a bartender was pouring drinks. Harry had to make sure he grabbed galleons before he left, the American wizarding money was much different and he didn't even have any English muggle money on him either, so he made sure he brought galleons. He ordered a glass of wine and walked around the store, its beauty was almost like an art gallery, it deserved to be looked at closely.

He stopped when right at 7 the sound of someone tapping a knife to the side of a glass to get everybody's attention was heard. He turned to the front of the store where Draco was standing, Harry thought he looked gorgeous. He was wearing a simple black, white, and gray outfit that had silver accents all throughout. The silver shimmered in the light and Harry felt a little mesmerized by it; he smiled when Draco started to speak.

"Tonight, marks the grand opening of 'The Steel Rose Boutique', I have been working on this for over a year now, and I couldn't be prouder of the outcome. The store will be officially open tomorrow, tonight is for celebration. Mingle, window shop, and have a drink or two. Thank you."

There was a soft round of applause as Draco stepped away from the front and the attention turned off of him. Harry had wanted to go speak with him, but he lost the blonde in the crowd, he just hummed and sipped his wine as he went back to walking around the boutique and admiring everything it had to offer.

Harry stopped walking after a few moments when he felt eyes on him, he looked up to see Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson off to the side of the room staring. Harry sighed softly and hoped that if he just acted as boring as possible that they would look away, that didn't seem to be the case because he felt their eyes on him for another 20 minutes until someone came up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. Harry turned around and smiled brightly when he saw Draco standing there.

"Draco!" Harry hugged him and Draco hugged him back, "You did great, this place looks absolutely stunning, you look absolutely stunning, I'm so proud of you." he said honestly, when they pulled away Draco was smiling softly, he looked him up and down and hummed in appreciation,

"I look stunning? What about you, Mr. Evans?" he smirked, Harry couldn't help but laugh softly.

"Careful Draco, all this flattery may start to go to my head," he was grinning, he felt two people walk up behind him and he stiffened just a bit, a lot of the casualness he had around Draco disappeared as a more professional demeanor came to him, he noticed Draco frown just slightly.

"Draco, Darling," Pansy purred, not in a flirtatious way, it was just how she drew out the words, "you did lovely, this place looks so well," she said as she stepped around Harry to kiss him on his cheek,

"Thank you, Pansy," Draco smiled at his oldest friend, Blaise congratulated him as well, although the air around him wasn't as… rich, as it was around Pansy, Harry noticed. Draco also thanked him, Harry took a half step back, he figured if Draco was speaking to his friends then he should leave, but he stopped when he felt Draco place a hand on his shoulder to stay.

"Blaise, Pansy, this is Harry Evans, he is the genius behind all the logos and designs you see around here," Harry blushed and pushed his shoulder a bit at the compliment, he held his hand out for them to shake,

"It's lovely to meet you both," he smiled, the amount of ease that he had while going back into his professional persona was something Draco was always surprised by.

Harry started to become a bit nervous when neither of them reached out to take his hand, he did well not to show it. He watched as pansy looked down at his hand and then back up at his face,

"Harry… Evans…" she said slowly, Harry just widened his smile and nodded,

"Yes ma'am, I'm a graphic designer based out of New York City," he offered, she just kept looking at him funny. She glanced at Draco though and suddenly she shook his hand,

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Evans, your designs truly are wonderful." she hummed, Harry could hear the honesty in her voice and it just made him smile more. Blaise then took his hand and shook it once Pansy let go.

Draco, Blaise, and Pansy launched into some discussion after that that Harry didn't understand. He hummed and drank his wine, he wandered around the store for a bit, just admiring its subtle details and unique charm. After a while, Harry noticed it was getting late, he found his way back over to Draco and the other two, who seemed to be arguing quietly about something, they stopped however when they noticed him. Harry smiled softly,

"I'm afraid I must be leaving, work in the morning and such, thank you for inviting me here," he gave Draco another hug and he both hated and loved the butterflies that erupted in his stomach when the blonde hugged him back. They pulled away and Draco smiled,

"Thank you for coming, I'm glad I was able to see you."

Harry hummed, "Don't be a stranger, okay?" he said, his voice sounded confident enough, like he was teasing him, but his eyes held uncertainty, he was asking for him not to forget about him. Draco noticed this and frowned just a bit, the brunette looked so scared, so unsure, Draco didn't like it. "The door's always open for you." Harry added, his nervous smile only seemed to grow in unease, he didn't wait for an answer before he left the store, apparating home.

-HHLL HHLL HHLL-

Several months had passed and Draco took Harry's invitation to heart, he visited Harry every few days, they hung out and watched tv and ate pizza and Chinese way too much. Sometimes they would sit and talk and other times they would just sit in the room together quietly, doing their own thing but enjoying the others company. This didn't help the feelings Harry had for Draco, not by any means, in fact they only grew more and more, to the point Harry thought he might explode soon.

Harry was in his office, working on some designs for a very, very picky client. He rubbed his temples as he stared at his computer screen and drawing tablet, his client had changed what he wanted at least 12 times already and every time Harry would give him what he said he wanted he changed his mind again. He could feel a headache forming and he just closed his eyes, trying to ward it away.

He didn't hear the knock on the front door, he didn't hear as the person walked in the house, and he didn't hear when they walked into his office, he only noticed they were there when he felt a hand card through his hair slowly. Harry jumped a bit and turned, when he saw Draco standing there holding a bag of food for lunch, he relaxed and smiled.

"Oh, hey Dray, sorry I didn't hear you come in." he said as he climbed out of his chair and they went to sit on the couch. Harry grinned at what Draco had gotten them for lunch, it was a to go order from his favorite Italian restaurant, Harry felt his mood lifting by the second.

They ate and talked for a while, each telling the other about what was going on at work and at home and with their friends. When they finished their food, Harry flicked his wrist and sent the empty boxes to the trashcan and he leaned back into the cushions of the sofa, he looked over and saw Draco looking at him funny.

"Dray? Are you okay?" he asked, Draco blinked a few times and nodded,

"Yeah, I… will you be my boyfriend?" he asked suddenly, Harry's eyes widened a bit and he sat up, Draco looked a little shocked by what just came out of his mouth.

"You… you want me?" Harry asked quietly, Draco's shocked face turned into a sad one, he reached up and cupped Harrys cheek, Harry leaned into his touch unconsciously,

"of course I want you," Draco whispered, "I've wanted you for months now" he leaned closer and ran his thumb over Harrys cheek bone, Harry relaxed into him.

"Yes." Harry answered, Draco looked confused for a moment but then he realized what Harry had said, he grinned and pulled him into a hug. When he pulled away from the embrace, he placed a hand on the back of Harrys neck and brought him in for a kiss, Harry kissed back happily and melted into him. The kiss ended and Harry let Draco hold him for a long while, the difficult client long forgotten about.

-HHLL HHLL HHLL-

They had been dating for almost a year now, Harry couldn't be happier. Draco still lived and ran his store in England and Harry was obviously still in New York, but they visited each other at least twice a week, even if it was only for a few hours.

They were sitting in Harrys apartment, eating a dinner Harry had made for them, on the couch of course, Harry still didn't have a dining room table. They were chatting casually as they ate and the environment was so nice, then Draco looked at him for a moment before saying,

"I want you to meet my parents," Harry choked on his food a little bit, he managed to get it down without asphyxiating and he looked at Draco incredulously.

"You what? You want me to meet your parents?" he repeated, he could feel his heart starting to race.

"Yes," Draco answered softly, he noticed Harrys growing anxiety and he took their plates and placed them on the coffee table. He moved and pulled Harry into his lap and wrapped his arms around him firmly.

"Wh-Why?" Harry stammered; he didn't see why Draco wanted him to meet the older Malfoys. They had been dating for a while now, but there was still a part of him that thought things would just fall apart and Draco would leave again, because he deserved more than Harry.

As if he could read his mind, Draco pulled him into a tender and slow kiss, when he pulled away, he rested their foreheads together, "because I love you, Harry." the blonde whispered.

Harrys breath caught in his throat, they had yet to say I love you's to each other, but hearing it made his heart soar. "I love you too, Draco." he whispered back. Draco smiled and pulled him in for another kiss.

"Will you come with me tomorrow to have dinner with them?" Draco asked after they separated, he took one of Harrys hands and laced their fingers together. Harry squeezed his hand and gave him a shy smile,

"Yes, I will," he received a blinding smile from his boyfriend, he couldn't help but grin as well, "is there a dress code I should follow?" he teased, although he was being serious, "I don't want to give off a bad impression."

If Draco thought he loved the man in his lap already, he only fell more in love at how serious he was taking this. "I would suggest business casual, or really anything that makes you look nice and like the successful man you are." he kissed his temple, Harry nodded and leaned into him, now that that was over with, he picked their plates up off of the table and handed Draco his so they could finish eating, Draco just laughed softly and kissed his cheek.

The next night when Draco stepped into Harrys apartment, he could feel the others anxiety through his magic. He made his way back to the others bedroom and saw his boyfriend standing at the threshold of his walk in closet just staring at it, he was half dressed- but from the waist up it looked like he was having trouble deciding on what to wear. Draco walked up to him quietly and wrapped his arms around his waist from behind. Harry jumped a bit but leaned into the embrace.

"Are you alright, love?" Draco asked with a bit of amusement in his voice, he leaned his chin on Harrys shoulder. Harry scoffed a bit,

"Draco, I literally walked to my death at 17 years old and I think I am more nervous now than I have ever been in my entire life." Draco felt bad for laughing, but he couldn't help it. He understood Harrys worry, his parents were awfully intimidating when they wanted to be, he just hoped they wouldn't be too bad tonight. Draco pulled away and walked into Harrys closet which had obviously already been picked through, but Draco knew what he was doing.

The blonde looked around for a moment before he finally came back with an eggplant purple dress shirt and a dark gray blazer to go with the pants Harry had chosen. He handed them over and Harry gave him a thankful look before going back into the bedroom and putting them on.

When Harry was finally dressed and his hair brushed and tied back in a matching purple ribbon, Draco stepped up to him again, "Are you ready?" he asked, wrapping an arm around him. Harry took a deep breath and nodded,

"As ready as I'll ever be." he answered with a smile, Draco pecked his lips before apparating them to his parents' home.

Harry was surprised when they landed that they weren't at the Malfoy manor, which for some reason he expected to be having dinner at. Draco saw his questioning look and he chuckled softly, leading him towards a modern looking family home.

"We still have the manor, if you're wondering, but we only ever use it for parties like the Christmas ball or if father is hosting something for the ministry." he answered the unspoken question. Harry nodded,

"That makes sense." He answered, he felt the butterflies in his stomach increase the closer they got to the house. Draco laced their fingers together as they walked,

"It's alright, love. You're going to do just fine." Draco soothed; Harry only felt mildly calmer. They finally reached the front door and Draco knocked; Harry straightened his back as he felt Draco squeeze his hand.

The door opened to reveal Narcissa, she smiled at her son but when she saw the other man, she looked a bit confused, Harry wanted to curse- of course he hadn't told them he was coming. The woman pulled Draco into a hug and ushered the two inside, they met Lucius in a sitting room off to the side. Lucius stood to greet his son and also looked a bit confused at the other guest, Draco hugged his father before pulling back,

"Mother, father, this is my boyfriend, Harry." Draco smiled and placed his hand on the small of Harrys back.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, it's a pleasure to finally meet you." Harry gave them a nervous smile, he watched as the Malfoy parents looked at each other before back at him, Narcissa gave him a smile,

"The pleasure is ours, Harry." she patted him on the shoulder and he and Lucius shook hands before they made their way into the dining room for dinner. An extra plate and silverware and the like came and set up in front of one of the empty seats for him, Harry couldn't help but smile.

Throughout the meal they spoke pleasantly, Harry was asked questions from the parents, he answered politely, he really hoped he was saying the right things.

The plates disappeared from the table when they were done eating, but the group of four continued to sit at the table and talk.

"Harry dear," Narcissa smiled at him, "What do you do for a living?"

"Oh! I'm a professional graphic designer based out of New York City," he gave her a smile of his own,

"He's the one who designed everything for the store, mother." Draco supplied, Harry blushed, especially when he noticed Narcissa's eyes light up at the information,

"You did such a wonderful job with the store, Harry." she complimented, Harry thanked her,

"Are you from New York? I don't recognize your accent from anywhere," Lucius asked, he waved his wand and a bar cart rolled up to them, they offered them drinks and Harry asked for some wine which he received. He swirled it around in his glass as he spoke,

"Oh, no sir, I moved there almost 10 years ago now. I am actually from England, but I consider my home to be the city." he smiled and took a sip of his wine, he noticed the strange looks he received from Lucius and Narcissa at that and he felt a little weird, had he said something wrong?

He felt Draco's hand come up to rub his thigh soothingly, having felt the anxiety coming off of him, Harry relaxed at the gentle touches.

"What did you say your last name was again, Harry?" Narcissa asked,

"Evans, ma'am. Harry Evans." he answered politely, he saw as they recognized the name because they glanced at each other then back to Harry.

"We didn't know you were _the_ Harry Evans." she said, Harry cocked his head to the side a bit,

"the?" he questioned,

"Harry, you are very well known in the business sphere over here for your designs and talent, both in the muggle and magical world." Lucius answered, Harry just blushed more, Narcissa chuckled at his reaction and shook her head a bit,

"Why did you decide to move to New York?" she asked him pleasantly, Harry took another sip of his wine,

"After the war I decided it was time to get away, England never really felt like home much anyway," he hummed, "I didn't intend to end up in new York, it just kind of happened, my magic decided that was where I should go, so that is where I went."

Narcissa nodded slowly, she gave him a calculating look, he tried not to look away from her gaze, but he felt awfully intimidated by it. He wondered if she could tell who he really was, she had been the one to ultimately save him when she lied to Voldemort about his death, after all.

They talked for a bit longer, he was basically interviewed and/or interrogated by the parental Malfoys, but Harry eased as the night went on. When Draco and Harry went to leave. the Malfoy parents walked them to the door. Harry received a hug from Narcissa and a fatherly pat on the back from Lucius, he felt oddly warm.

"Harry dear, do you mind if we speak to Draco for a bit before we send him on home?" Narcissa asked sweetly, Harry shook his head,

"Not at all Mrs. Malfoy, thank you for your hospitality." he smiled and pecked Draco's lips before walking out the door and apparating back to his apartment. Once he was gone, both parental eyes were on Draco, Draco wasn't sure if he was supposed to be afraid or not.

"Draco," his mother began, "first off you did not tell us you were seeing somebody, second off you did not tell us you were dating a very successful and powerful wizard, third off you did not tell us you were bringing him to dinner, and fourth off you did not tell us that said wizard you are seeing is Harry Potter." she counted off the things on her fingers, Draco winced and took a half step back.

"I'm sorry mother, father," he said as he glanced between his parents, "I meant to tell you earlier, I really did, but I was worried that if I told you early on things would turn out bad between us and then it'd be harder to get over," he rubbed the back of his neck, "but we've been together for a while now, and I wanted him to meet you guys. It was a last-minute decision, I literally asked him to come yesterday, that is why you didn't get any warning in advance. And as for who he is, I wanted you to get to know him before you made any judgements about him because of his name and who he was as a teenager." He answered truthfully.

Lucius was the one to speak next, "He is a lovely young man." he complimented, Draco looked up at him a bit shocked before he grinned and nodded,

"So why did he really disappear?" Narcissa asked and lead them into the sitting room, this conversation could be had just as easily on the couch. Draco's face fell, he scowled a bit at nothing in particular,

" He was walking down the morning after the battle to see if he could help with anything when he heard one Molly Weasley blaming him for all the pain her family had endured. He thought of the Weasleys as his family, His relatives were awful to him and Ronald was his first ever friend for Merlin's sake, they had taken him in and then Molly just decided she wished she had never met him?" he felt his anger boiling in the pit of his stomach, he greatly wanted to go to the Weasley clan and show them how he really felt about the situation. He heard his mother gasp quietly and he looked over at her,

"How could they do that to him?" she asked, tears filling her eyes, "He risked his entire life for our world, he had his entire family, entire childhood stolen from him. He didn't ask to be marked by that bastard, he didn't choose to be the boy who lived, he was thrust into that position and her family was the only sense of normality he ever had, and she had the _audacity _to blame him for what happened to them?" Lucius wrapped an arm around her shoulders, both to comfort her and to keep her from getting up and storming the Weasley household right then. Draco shook his head sadly,

"That was my thought exactly," he sighed "he said that when he first left, he had intentions of coming back to England after a few years, but he built a life in New York, it's his home now."

the three Malfoys continued to talk for a bit, before Draco finally left with a small smile on his face, tonight had gone better than expected.

-HHLL HHLL HHLL-

"Will you come with me?" Harry asked one afternoon Draco was visiting, he looked a little nervous and Draco frowned,

"sure love," he answered, not knowing where they were going. He let Harry take his hand, he prepared himself for apparation and the next thing he knew, they were definitely not at home anymore. He looked around the neighborhood, not necessarily empty, but not crowded either.

"Where are we?" he asked his boyfriend gently, Harry just led him down the street,

"I want you to meet some people," Harry spoke, his voice drifted through the air. Draco furrowed his eyebrows, he had never seen Harry like this before, so distant, like he was floating, it worried him.

He didn't ask any more questions as they walked, he just listened to the sound of the wind and their footsteps. He saw a graveyard up ahead and he was a little surprised when that was exactly where Harry led him.

Harry stopped in front of 2 stone grave markers in the ground, Draco looked down and noticed the names, things finally started to click into place. They sat down in front of the graves of James and Lily Potter, and Draco felt a weird sense of welcome as he sat.

Harry leaned his head on Draco's shoulder, "hello, Mum, Dad," he spoke quietly, Draco took Harry's hand in his and laced their fingers together.

"This is my boyfriend, Draco, I wanted you to meet him." his voice was nearing a whisper, a little worried that Draco would think he was crazy, but he didn't.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Potter," Draco spoke into the silence, he felt Harry squeeze his hand, "I've heard so much about you, it's a pleasure to finally meet you." A cool breeze blew past them, making the autumn leaves around them dance against the ground. "I love your son, very much." He felt Harry squeeze his hand again as another gust of wind passed over them.

Harry started to speak quietly, about work and friends and Draco and just life in general, the blonde could tell he did this often with how much ease he spoke with. He sat and just listened to his boyfriend talk, squeezing his hand and adding comments every so often when he felt it was needed.

When they stood to leave, Draco transfigured some leaves into a wreathe of flowers, he placed it in between their grave markers. "thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Potter, I'm glad I got to meet you and speak with you." He spoke into the air, he heard Harry say goodbye and then one final strong gust of wind went by, almost strong enough to knock them down, before it was gone, and the air went still.

Harry led Draco out of the graveyard and back down the street from where they had come,

"thank you," he whispered, stopping to look up at Draco. "I just… I met your parents and I… I wanted to give you that, but I know I can't do that in a normal way and I just…" he trailed off, Draco watched as tears came to Harry's eyes, he pulled him into a tight hug.

"it was lovely meeting them," he whispered honestly, he felt warmed at the gesture, but also at knowing he was important enough to Harry to get to meet his parents like this, he guessed nobody else really had.

Harry buried his face in Draco's shoulder, "they love you," he mumbled, Draco was a bit shocked at the words,

"yeah?" he whispered,

"yeah." Harry repeated, nodding his head, a small breeze blew by them again, "I can tell." Harry pulled his face out of his shoulder and kissed him thoroughly, when they pulled away Harry had a watery smile and Draco kissed the few tears that had escaped, away.

"I love you," Harry whispered, Draco leaned their foreheads together,

"and I love you, my heart." He whispered back. Harry gave him another smile before apparating them back to his home.

-HHLL HHLL HHLL-

It was their 1 year anniversary, they had exchanged gifts and now were sitting on the couch- well, Draco was sitting and Harry was laying with his head in Draco's lap, the blonde ran his fingers through the long hair, Harry was practically goo at the other man's fingertips, Draco chuckled at how calm his love was.

"Move in with me," Harry said after a long moment of silence, Draco stilled his petting and looked down to see Harry looking up at him.

"Move in with you?" he asked quietly, Harry just nodded,

"Yeah… I know that it might be a pain in the ass to go from here to the store and back, but I figured I could open up the fireplace to the Floo and you can use that to get to and from work?" he suddenly felt unreasonably self-conscious, "I just… I want to be around you all the time, I want to share more of my life with you," he murmured.

Harry was surprised as he was moved into a sitting position and then kissed deeply, but he didn't complain. He wrapped his arms around Draco and kissed back without any hesitation. Draco ran his tongue across Harrys bottom lip, he shivered but opened his mouth willingly. There was a small fight for dominance, but Draco won out in the end. When they finally pulled away for air, they were panting slightly. Draco looked down at Harry and noticed the kiss swollen lips and the love in his eyes and he couldn't help but smile and kiss the others forehead tenderly. He definitely wanted this all time, not just the few times a week they could see each other.

"I'd love to move in with you." he answered, he grinned when Harry pulled him into another kiss.

-HHLL HHLL HHLL-

Harry was helping Draco at the store today, putting things out on shelves, helping with inventory, and just generally being around. He was also manning the register while Draco was on the phone with someone important. Harry hummed as he worked, he wore muggle clothes, which had him receiving some odd stares, but he didn't mind, so long as they didn't ask questions, Harry was alright with staring.

He had his hair tied back in a loose and messy bun, the lightning bolt on his forehead had faded after Voldemort's defeat, but the last 10 years of scar cream and salve made it almost non-existent at this point. He was thankful that the last decade took him from a child to a proper adult, it helped with the whole not being recognized thing.

Harry was in the back grabbing some items for restock when he heard the front door open, "I'll be right with you!" he called. He grabbed the things and spelled them to the racks before coming out, looking up, he faltered just a tiny bit when he saw the gaggle of redheads and one bushy haired witch mingling around the store. Harry didn't let his anxiety show on his face, his professional mask firmly in place.

They weren't paying any attention to him right now, and they didn't seem to need his help, so he stayed at the counter and drew in his sketchbook while he waited for either them to speak to him, or for Draco to come back out. He was humming softly as he drew when he heard someone call out, "Excuse me," Harry looked up and met the eyes of his former best friend, Hermione Granger (Hermione Weasley? He didn't know, but he guessed most likely).

"Yes ma'am?" he asked politely, putting his sketchbook down and walking around the counter. He watched as she narrowed her eyes at him, but Harry just kept his professional politeness up.

"I was wondering who the owner of this store was?" she looked him up and down, he hoped his eyes didn't give anything away.

"Oh, Draco Malfoy is the owner," Harry smiled, "is this your first time visiting the store?" Hermione gaped at him, he figured that meant yes.

"You mean, Draco Malfoy, Slytherin posterchild, son of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, owns and operates this store?" she asked, Harry felt his anger flare at her tone, how dare she be so condescending. She must have seen something in his eyes, or maybe his magic was getting the better of him, because she took a step back.

"yes, Draco Malfoy, owns, operates, and designs half the clothes in this store." He looked her up and down, "And I don't see how him being a Slytherin has anything to do with his career ventures." he all but spat, apparently the Slytherin prejudice was still strong within his generation.

"Woah man, she didn't mean it like that," Ron came to her defense, putting a hand on Hermione's shoulder, Harry glanced at their left hands and noticed the rings, he wanted to smile and congratulate them, but he was also still pretty angry.

"Then in what way was it meant? Hmm?" he asked, he figured it was his magic in the air because he could feel the static electricity around him building.

"I apologize, I shouldn't have been so rude," Hermione said quietly, something was off, she knew that magic, but she couldn't place her finger on it. "I was just surprised that Malfoy was working in fashion, is all. The last I had heard of him he was still working in the ministry."

Harry was about to retort when he felt someone hug him from behind, his magic and himself was instantly soothed as he leaned back into the embrace.

"While I appreciate you standing up for my honor, Harry," Draco hummed in his ear, Harry could hear the smile in his voice, "maybe trying to electrocute the customers isn't the best decision." he teased, Harry blushed and just leaned into him more. He looked over at the others and saw them staring at him and Draco funny, he frowned and tried not to glare at them.

"Why don't you go home, love," Draco kissed his cheek, Harry nodded a bit and stepped out of the embrace when Draco let go of him, he went behind the counter and grabbed his sketchbook and his bag, he went back up to Draco and pecked his lips before heading into the back of the store to Floo home.

Draco was in the back on the phone with his old mentor when he had felt Harry's magic flare up, he had frowned but continued on with the conversation, thinking everything would settle itself out. But when he felt the static in the air that made his hair stand up, he quickly got off the phone and made his way out to the selling floor. His frown only deepened when he saw Hermione and Ron Weasley standing in front of his boyfriend. He looked further into the store and saw Ginny and George Weasley mingling around but looking over every so often to make sure the situation didn't escalate any farther.

Draco heard Harry spit out that his Hogwarts house had nothing to do with his career, he couldn't help but smile just a bit. He listened for a moment and could only feel Harry's magic getting more intense, he walked up behind his love and hugged him. When he did, he saw the Weasleys all look at him in astonishment and a bit of trepidation.

He suggested Harry go home and he was very grateful when Harry agreed and left, now it was time to deal with the Weasleys. He looked over at them all and he crossed his arms, frowning a bit,

"Perhaps making him angry isn't the wisest decision." he commented dryly, Hermione's eyes were wide, they had been since he said his loves name.

"Malfoy, I didn't mean-" Draco held up his hand to silence her apology,

"I know, Mrs. Weasley," he said calmly, "I hold no malice towards you, nor your comments. Harry is rather protective at times, but he most likely doesn't hold anything against you, either." he commented, he remembered what Harry had told him about the Weasleys and he scowled at the floor.

"H-Harry?" Hermione stammered out, Draco looked her up and down and noticed the tears welling up in her eyes, he cursed his big mouth, he had said it quietly earlier, maybe she thought she didn't hear right, but she heard clearly this time.

"Harry Evans, yes," he frowned when George and Ginny stepped up behind Ron and Hermione to join the conversation.

"Harry Evans," she repeated numbly, "the graphic designer?" Draco only nodded. "He took his mums maiden name…" she murmured, he cursed again when he saw the redheads' eyes start to widen, they were all coming to the same conclusion. He looked up and saw Ron looked furious, Draco only raised an eyebrow at him.

"What did you do to him Mal-!" Ron started, but the rage that had been bubbling up sense Draco saw them was finally boiling over, his own magic lashing out in warning.

"Shouldn't it be I who is asking you that, _Weasley_." He hissed dangerously, he noticed as the clan of redheads took a step back.

"Your precious mother stood in the halls of Hogwarts and openly blamed Harry for the death of her son and every other bad thing that happened to her family. She said she had wished that you lot had never met him. Hell, I would have left in that situation too! You were the only family he ever had! And then you took it all away from him!" he was yelling, he was furious, he was very glad that nobody else was in the store right now.

Draco watched as the Weasley clan stared at him incredulously, Draco put his hands on his hips and just glared at them. "So, don't you dare ask what _I_ did to Harry, when you are the reason he ran away. We have been dating for over a year now, and if you have an issue with it, then that's on you."

-HHLL HHLL HHLL-

It was 2 weeks after the Weasley incident, Harry had been much more subdued since he saw his old friends. Draco was doing everything he could to cheer him up, and while it worked, it never worked for long.

They were lying in bed, Harry's head was on Draco's chest and the blonde was playing with his loves hair, he was caught off guard when Harry started speaking,

"Do you think she still hates me?" was his whispered question, Draco felt his heart break at the pain in Harry's voice. He held him closer and leaned down to kiss the top of his head,

"I don't know love, I would hope not, but if she does then she isn't worth your time. You have done nothing wrong; her anger was and still is unwarranted and you deserved better than that." Draco responded firmly, he felt Harry nod against his chest. "Even if Molly decides she wants nothing to do with you, that doesn't mean that the rest of the family will as well," he hummed, "if you wanted to write to them, or visit them, I would support you 100%."

"Would you go with me if I asked?" Harry looked up at him with tired eyes, Draco pecked his lips,

"I would go with you even if you didn't." Harry gave him a small smile and nodded again before laying his head back down, the two fell asleep not long after.

The next day when Draco went to work, he stopped inside Weasleys Wizarding Wheezes to speak to a certain owner. He made his way inside and asked one of the ladies at the register if he was in, she nodded and sent a Patronus for him to come down. George stepped off of the bottom stair and looked up in surprise when he saw Draco.

"Malfoy?" he asked, after the other week he had fully expected the blonde to make sure they were never in the same room as each other again, but that didn't seem to be the case.

"Weasley," Draco nodded his head in greeting, "might we speak for a moment?" George opened his mouth to say something before he closed it, he thought for a couple more seconds before nodding,

"Sure, follow me," George waved Draco over to a back room area and motioned for him to sit down, Draco took the offered seat and waited until George was seated and paying attention. "Is this about Harry?" George asked quietly, Draco nodded.

"Have you all spoken to your mother about what I told you?" was his first question, he was curious as to how that played out.

"No, Hermione at one point was going to, but Ron had to hold her back because if she started talking about Harry, she was going to end up losing her top at mum," George shook his head, "Ginny, Ron and I figured that if we were never going to get to see Harry again, there was no use bringing it up. But considering you're here, I have a feeling something up?" he questioned.

"We were lying in bed last night and he asked me if I thought Molly still hated him," he spoke quietly, "his voice was so hurt, his face full of pain, I didn't know how I was supposed to answer, because honestly I didn't know." Draco looked up at George and saw he had a bit of a horrified look.

"Mum doesn't speak about Harry, similar to how she doesn't speak about Fred, I don't know if it's because she hates him, or if because she feels he is another dead son. I suppose I could ask, if you-" Draco shook his head,

"I think Harry should go to the burrow and ask her himself," he took a breath, "unless he asks and she gives him her answer, then he will never truly believe what anybody else says, because he will think we are trying to placate him."

George nodded slowly, "Does he just want to speak to mum, or do you think he wants to talk to the rest of us, as well?"

"I think he wants to see all of you, he told me after he saw you guys in the store that he missed you all, missed Ron and Hermione and just the whole lot of you. He even misses Arthur, the only thing keeping him away is your mum. Since you did not tell her that she is the reason he left, I think it would be wise to let him tell her that, too." Draco answered, George thought it over for a moment before he nodded,

"I think that would be beneficial for whatever healing he still needs to go through. Is there any specific date you want me to make sure that everybody is home on?"

"Would this Friday work?" Draco was surprised at how easy this conversation was going,

"That's perfect, we're already planning a get together at the burrow with everybody, I'll make sure nobody leaves before you get there," George gave him a weak smile, "I'll see you Friday, I suppose." he spoke, holding out his hand, Draco shook it and nodded.

"See you Friday, Weasley." he said cordially before going back to his own store.

-HHLL HHLL HHLL-

When Friday rolled around, Harry was a nervous wreck, Draco didn't think he had ever seen the man in such a state, not even when Harry had met Draco's parents. Draco pulled his love into a hug right before they left,

"I am here for you, I will be right there, I will always be unequivocally on your side." he whispered, Harry nodded against him, he looked up and kissed Draco softly. When they pulled apart, Harry apparated them to the burrow.

He stood outside the door for a few minutes, just staring at the wood, Draco took his hand and laced their fingers together, squeezing softly.

"Do you want me to knock?" Draco asked softly, Harry looked up at him and thought for a second, before he slowly shook his head. He raised his hand and knocked on the door 3 good times, his anxiety spiked, this was for real now.

Someone shouted, "I got it!" from inside the house and then the door opened only a moment later, it was Hermione who answered. She saw Draco first and she frowned,

"Malfoy?" she asked confused, until she turned her head to see who was next to him. their eyes met and as soon as they did Harry was trying not to cry,

"Hermione…" he whispered, almost brokenly. Hermione closed the door behind her and stepped up to Harry, throwing her arms around him in a tight hug. Draco let go of Harry's hand and took a step to the side.

As soon as she hugged him, he started crying, it had been 10 years, but the hurt was still there. Hermione's own tears started to fall, they stayed like that for a long while,

"I missed you so much," Harry whispered, clutching to her, "I-I'm sorry, for leaving, but I had to 'Mione." he was desperately trying to convince her, desperately trying to make her see his side of things. She shushed him gently and slowly rubbed up and down his back,

"I missed you too, Harry," she responded, "I trust your reasons for leaving, no matter what they are," she acted as if she didn't already know, "if you felt it was time to leave, then it was time to leave. And if you feel like it is time to come back, then I'm certainly not going to stop you." Harry nodded into her shoulder, pulling away after a few more moments, he wiped his tears and stepped back up to Draco, the blonde took his hand again.

"Come inside, Harry," Hermione said softly, she turned to Draco and gave him a small smile as well, "you as well Draco, can't be a family gathering without Harry's family, now can it?" nodding her head towards the door, at Harry's nod she smiled and lead the two in. Draco felt oddly warmed by her words, he thought maybe the Weasley's weren't as bad as he once assumed.

All of the Weasleys were in the living room, just generally hanging out and talking and enjoying the families company. They all looked up when Hermione walked back in, they spotted the two men behind her and looked confused. Well, George, Ron, and Ginny didn't, although the two youngest Weasley children looked very shocked.

"Mr. Malfoy? is that you?" Molly asked, immediately recognizing the blonde, Draco felt Harry stiffen next to him and he squeezed his hand gently.

"Yes ma'am," he answered, keeping his voice polite,

"It is good to see you, dear, glad to see you're still holding up after Hogwarts," she nodded her head, "What brings you and your friend here? I didn't know that you and the children were close?" Draco had to stop himself from groaning, her motherly energy radiated off of her and Draco could tell it only made his love more anxious.

Ron was the next to stand and go over to them, he stood in front of Harry for a moment, the two looked at each other before Harry was once again pulled into a bone-crushing hug. Harry hugged him back, "I missed you, Ron," Harry whispered, Ron just nodded in response, Harry received the message perfectly. When Ron pulled away, Ginny was next to step up to him and hug him, she whispered that she was proud of him, Harry had to stop from bawling. When she finally pulled away it was George who was next in line for hugs. Once he had sat back down the other half of the Weasley clan were all staring at them, awfully confused.

"Hello," Harry greeted quietly, meeting everybody's eyes except for Molly's.

"Mate take a seat," Ron offered, motioning towards a seat for both him and Draco, they sat down, Draco kept a firm grip on Harry's hand, rubbing his thumb along the back of his hand.

"Hello, my boy," Arthur started, giving him a confused smile, "What is your name?" Harry swallowed thickly, he was nervous, so he did the only thing he could think to do, he went into his professional persona. Harry gave him a friendly smile, somehow the air in the room shifted.

"My name is Harry Evans, sir," he responded politely, Arthur noticed the shift in energy and his eyes narrowed just a bit.

"_The_ Harry Evans?" he asked, Harry nodded his head,

"Yes sir," Harry felt Draco squeeze his hand to give his comfort.

"What brings you here today, Mr. Evans?" Molly asked sweetly, Harry didn't look at her, instead he looked at a space somewhere past her.

"I was very good friends with your children while we were in school, I wanted to come say hello and catch up," he spoke, he saw out of the corner of his eye how all the other Weasley children and their spouses caught on immediately to what was going on, if the gasps were anything to go by. "I haven't seen them in a very long time."

"Oh, why haven't you been able to see them, dear?" she asked,

"I left England." was his simple answer, she asked him why and finally he looked her in the eyes and his magic flared, her eyes widened minutely, she knew that magic, knew those eyes.

"Because you wished you had never met me." he spoke evenly, Molly's eyes only widened more,

"E-Excuse me?" she squeaked, hoping this didn't mean what she thought it meant.

"Harry Potter, you said you wished you had never met Harry potter, that he caused every bad thing that happened to your family. You wished you had never helped him onto the train in first year, wished you and your family had never gotten close to him. He was the reason your son was dead, was he not?" his voice was eerily calm, Draco found this more unnerving than his previous anxiety.

Molly had tears welling in her eyes, "H-Harry," she gasped, Harry saw the older Weasley siblings and their spouses looking between him and her in shock, their mother was the reason he had disappeared?

"You are the reason I left, Molly," Harry spoke over the beginnings of her sentence, "you are part of the reason I stayed away. Do you know how much that hurt, Molly?" his voice faded a bit, faltering in its calm for only a moment, "You were the only family I ever knew, the Dursleys beat and starved me, Ron was my first friend _ever_, you were the only mother I ever knew, and then you decided you didn't want me around anymore. I was the reason all of your kids had gotten hurt in some way; I was the reason bad things had happened to your family during the war. People were trying to hurt me, trying to weaken me, and your family got the brunt of it, isn't that right?"

Molly started crying, she placed her head in her hands, "Oh Harry!" she wailed, Harry could see it pained her not to get up and hug him, he was glad she didn't. "I'm so sorry! I was so bitter, so hurt, I was trying to cope with my grief by blaming everybody and everything for the reason things had happened, for the reason Fred was gone. Y-you heard me in the hallway?" she looked up and Harry just nodded curtly, "I finished my tirade and Arthur shook me hard, he asked what was the matter with me, asked how I could ever say such a thing, I came to my senses, but it was too late," her lip wobbled, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I'm the reason you left, I'm so sorry I hurt you. When you disappeared, it felt like I had lost another child, and I'm the one who pushed you away." Her voice faded into a whisper, Harry gave her another nod, his lips pursed together,

"I accept your apology, Mrs. Weasley, but I cannot say that things are all hunky dory now. You hurt me, badly, it has been 10 years, it will take some time to reacquaint ourselves with each other." At the last part he looked around the room. He stood and Draco stood with him, Harry went and hugged Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and George again before he bowed slightly, "I will write." was his parting words before he basically dragged Draco out of the house.

Once they were outside, he apparated them away, landing in their Livingroom, he went and sat down numbly on the couch. Draco followed and pulled him into his arms, holding him close.

"Are you okay?" Draco whispered, kissing the top of Harry's head. Harry nodded,

"It hurts, Draco," Harry whispered, Draco held him closer,

"I know Harry, I know. I'm here for you, my love, no matter what happens." Harry nodded and tucked himself into Draco easily, it hurt less when he was there.

The Weasley's and Harry kept in touch over the next year or so, the relationship between Harry and Molly was still very strained, but the Weasley children were all in good standing. Harry even met with Ron and Hermione every fortnight for dinner.

-HHLL HHLL HHLL-

It was nearing their second year anniversary, Draco found that as each day went on, he loved his boyfriend even more than the last, he wasn't even sure how it was possible, but it was.

Draco stood in the empty apartment after Harry had left for work, once he made sure that Harry was far enough away, he apparated.

He landed in a neighborhood; one he had been to a few times in the last year with his boyfriend. He started walking down the street, it was his first time ever here by himself, he hoped he wasn't intruding somehow.

H e slowly made his way to the graveyard at the end of the way, he took a deep breath before entering the gates and finding his way to sit in front of the Potter grave markers. He was quiet for a moment, just staring down at their names on the stone. There was a soft breeze, almost not even there, Draco somehow found it in himself to speak.

"Hello," he started, another light gust passed him, "If you're waiting for Harry, I'm sorry, it's just me today, but I needed to talk with you alone." He spoke softly, he waited a moment, as if giving them time to respond before he started speaking again, Harry always did this- so he made sure he did, too.

"I wanted to ask your permission to marry your son," he finally said, "I love him deeply, and I want to be able to be with him forever, I want to show him just how much I love him." his voice was fading off into a whisper, but he knew they would hear it, somehow.

The wind picked up then, stronger than before but not overpowering, Draco never moved his eyes from their graves. He felt warmth blossom inside of him despite the chilly October air, he couldn't help but smile, somehow, he knew they were giving him the okay.

"thank you," he responded after a moment, "I promise you won't regret the decision." he stayed there, quiet for a while, not wanting to up and leave so soon- somehow it felt rude.

When he finally stood, he bid farewell and slowly made his way out of the graveyard and down the neighborhood street, a smile on his face and a ring on his shopping list.

-HHLL HHLL HHLL-

It was a month after Draco had visited the graveyard to visit Harry's parents, he was a nervous wreck. He had the ring picked out and bought, he had the night planned, he had everything thought out, but he was still a nervous wreck.

Their anniversary was on Monday, so they were spending that Saturday celebrating. Draco had all of Harry's favorite things laid out for them to do, he wanted to make tonight special.

Harry was confused about Draco's weird behavior, but the blonde had told him not to worry so he didn't, he wanted to enjoy the day with his love.

First, they spent all morning in bed together, talking and laughing and making love and just being with each other, basking in their love for one another.

second, they went to a gallery opening of one of Harry's favorite artists, they stayed for a while, Harry looking at all the pieces and talking non-stop to Draco about every little detail. Draco couldn't understand most of what he was saying, but he loved seeing Harry so happy.

Next, they went to dinner. Draco made reservations at a fancy restaurant Harry had always wanted to go to but never got around to. It was a rooftop restaurant so they could see over the entire city, they ate and talked and drank and had a good time.

Finally, they walked around the city for a while, hand in hand and just talking quietly. Draco led them to a small park area that was already being decorated for Christmas, Harry grinned at all the lights that were around the place, he thought it was beautiful. They ended up on a gazebo, Harry turned and looked over the railing down into the pond around it. A group of koi fish were swimming around, Harry grinned,

"Draco! Look they have-!" he turned to look at his boyfriend, but he wasn't standing next to him like he had been all night, he furrowed his eyebrows and turned around completely, his breath caught in his throat.

Draco watched with a soft look in his eye as Harry went over to the edge of the gazebo and looked down into the water, he smiled when he saw the excitement on his loves face at seeing the fish, he took a breath and pulled the ring out of his pocket, he got down on one knee and waited.

When Harry finally turned around Draco saw his breath hitch and his eyes widen, the blonde gave him a nervous smile. "Harry, we've been together for 2 years now, and I have never been happier in my entire life. Being with you feels like being in heaven. I love you so much, more than anything. Will you marry me?" he opened the ring box in his hand to show a simple white gold band with a small diamond in the center.

Harry's eyes filled up with tears, his hand flew to his mouth to cover it in his shock. He listened to Draco's speech and he couldn't help the tears from falling, he nodded his head dumbly, "yes." He whispered, "yes, yes of course," he laughed through the tears and pulled Draco up so he could kiss him.

Draco slipped the ring onto his finger as they kissed, he pulled his fiancé into a tight embrace once the kiss ended.

"God, I love you so much," Harry whispered through his crying, a large grin plastered over his face.

Draco pulled back from the hug so he could kiss Harry again, it was slow and sweet and loving. They separated and just stayed and talked in the gazebo for a while before heading home.

When they walked through the threshold of the door, Harry grabbed Draco by the tie and started pulling him towards the bedroom, the blonde certainly didn't protest.

They basked in each other after their love making, facing each other on their sides under the blanket. Draco reached his hand up and stroked his loves jaw, he loved the way Harry leaned into his touch.

"I love you, Harry." he whispered, "I don't know where I would be without you in my life, but I know I wouldn't want to be there."

Harry smiled, a loving look in his eyes, "You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, Draco Malfoy, and I love you with all my heart." He whispered back, they snuggled closer to one another and kissed lovingly before turning out the lights and falling asleep.

They slept soundly, knowing they had the rest of their lives with each other.


End file.
